and that's exactly what happened in the united states congress. >> hockenberry: beyond washington, in wave after wave, the skeptic tactic of fighting scientific warnings with doubt and delay was finding success. tennessee passed a law allowing the views of climate change skeptics to be taught in schools. a virginia state legislator cut the words "sea level rise" from an official request to study coastal communities, calling it a left-wing term. here in north carolina, a warning from scientists on sea level rise would cause politicians to try and legislate climate change out of existence. >> they're here to try to protect these houses. >> hockenberry: in 2010, 19 scientists on a state commission warned of a possible sea level rise by the end of the century. >> here you get an idea of the nature of these dunes. >> hockenberry: geologist stanley riggs was one of the scientists. >> what we were asked to do is to develop... what is the history of sea level rise and what can north carolina expect 25 years from now, 50 years from now, a hundred years from now. >> hockenberry: the report said